The rose & the shadow
by kindbloodedArlanna
Summary: princess Amelia Roselia is arranged to marry the arrogant knight, sir Sonic the blue, but she doesn't want to marry him. when she gets a new bodyguard, Shadow the swift, she begins to have new feelings. Does he feel the same, or will he leave...forever?
1. Prelude

Amelia rode her favorite horse, Snow, through nightmare forest.

"Faster, faster!" she called out desperately. "Hurry, Snow! If we don't make it in time, it'll al have been for nothing! PLEASE!"

Snow went faster than ever before, putting every ounce of energy into her strong legs, going near as fast as the wind.

Finally, she made it to the destination of her intent. She looked up and gasped, as tears began to flow down her face.

"NO!" she screamed, "HOW COULD YOU? WHY DID YOU DO IT?"

She felt his hand grasp around her throat and lift her up into the air. "Isn't it obvious already?" he said, staring her in the eyes, "I've been the enemy all along…"

That was the last thing she heard before she felt nothing.


	2. Meeting my match

WARNING: this story has anti- Sonic Content.

"Amelia, this is sir Sonic the blue. You will marry him when you turn seventeen."

Those were the words Amelia's mother Florina said as she introduced a twelve-year-old blue hedgehog to her.

"Err… hello, sir Sonic," said Amelia, who was eleven.

"Asante, Mademoiselle," said Sonic, kissing her hand gingerly, but appearing as if he would rather not have done so. "Oh, and just call me Sonic."

"But, that wouldn't be proper…" said Amelia.

"Okay," said Sonic, "whatever you say, chickie."

"Sonic!" his mother exclaimed, who was in the room as well.

"What did you say that for?" Amelia frowned, "My name is Amelia. I am a princess, so I would appreciate if you called me as much."

"Ah, whatever, Sonic said dismissively, "Can I go now? I told Miles I'd meet him in the square."

"Yes, son, you may go," Sonic's mother, Aleena sighed.

"Thanks, ma! I'll be home quick!"

With that, he was gone.

Aleena stayed with Florina a few minutes longer to chat, then left.

"Well," said Florina, turning to Amelia, "What do you think of him, dear?"

"I hate him," was Amelia's reply, "he's disrespectful not only to me but his family as well! He disregarded any manners, and spoke quite rudely! I'd say he's nothing short of an arrogant _jackass,_ mother."

"Yes, you're right, said her mother, but you know you must marry him. Your father will not allow otherwise."

Amelia sat on a cushion and sighed.

"I know, but I don't want to! Oh mother, is there no way this can be avoided?"

"Well, there is one way…"

"What is it? Please tell!" Amelia said excitedly.

"You'd have to marry a cousin of his."

"That's good, mother! Has he any?"

"Well, he has one," said Florina slowly, "but he's been missing for over a year, so nobody knows what he looks like or if he's even alive. I'm sorry, my dear."

"Oh…" Amelia said disappointedly. "May I please go out to the gardens?"

Florina hesitated. "Dear, they're all quite large, are you sure…?"

"Absolutely!"

"All right," Florina said, giving in, "but you must come in before sundown."

"Okay! Thank you so much, mother!" said Amelia, hugging her mother and running out the door, but not before waving to her mother and saying, "I love you! I won't be long, don't you worry about me!"

When Amelia had left, Florina sighed to herself and said, "I won't, though I do wish you could remain like this forever… so light, so happy, so carefree."


	3. The one I met in the garden

This has anti sonic material

This is in Mobius's past

Amelia ran into the garden, tears uncontrollably flowing down her cheeks. She had only feigned her previous happiness. In truth, she was miserable and just wanted time to herself. Vision blurred, she tripped over a rock and fell. She got up slowly and walked toward a tree, which had a marble white bench underneath. She sat on it, trying to hold back tears, but was failing miserably.

"Why?" she said between clenched teeth, "It's not fair! I don't want to marry that… that cocky-"

She couldn't finish, for she had burst out in great sobs.

"It's not fair…"

Suddenly, she heard soft footsteps approaching. She quickly stood, wiping her eyes to hide her sorrow. Out from behind the tree, there came a hedgehog. For a mere second, Amelia thought it was Sonic, but then noticed he looked different. He was an ebony hedgehog with crimson stripes, and red eyes. Another point was that his quills pointed up instead of down, unlike Sonic's. He looked Sonic's age, though.

"Are you alright?" he asked her softly.

"I'm fine," she said stiffly.

"Then why were you crying?" he persisted.

"I wasn't crying."

"I heard you. What's the matter?"

Amelia bit her lip, " I don't want to say…"

The dark hedgehog simply nodded, "I won't make you tell if you don't want to, although I'm still curious."

Amelia just stared at him, surprised, "You… you're not forcing-"

"No."

Amelia smiled, "You're really nice, mister."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Madame."

Amelia blushed, "Th-thank you. I apologize, sir, for my rudeness upon our meeting. Please, let us start over. I am princess Amelia de Lilia Roselia, pleased to meet you. And you are?"

"Shadow the swift, but I prefer for most to call me by my common name, Shadow. If that's all right with you, princess."

"Yes, that's quite fine, Shadow."

Shadow nodded, "Indeed. I believe I was told a few days ago I was to be your new bodyguard."

Amelia clasped her hands together in happiness, "You are? That's wonderful! But I do wonder… aren't you a little young?"

"You can never be too young if you put your heart into it, my rose." Shadow bent down and kissed her hand lightly.

Amelia giggled a little, "You're much more polite than that arrogant Sonic, Shadow. I must _marry_ him." She spoke the word _marry_ with a tone of disgust.

Shadow's eyes flared. "Sonic? He's an, an…"

"ASS?" Amelia finished for him.

"Yeah!"

"So, you know him?" Amelia inquired.

"More than you know."

A silver hedgehog could be seen hovering towards them using telekinesis.

"Who is that?" asked Shadow.

"Oh, that's just Silver, my mother's advisor." Amelia replied.

"Amelia, Amelia!" Silver called, "You must come inside! It's time for dinner."

"Alright," said Amelia.

"And who is this?" Silver said, eyeing Shadow.

"My name is Shadow. I'm the new bodyguard for miss Roselia," Shadow answered.

"Hmm, I see that's in order," Silver said in a bored manner, "Well, then you must follow us, Shadow. Welcome to the royal family."

Amelia looked at Shadow questioningly, "Welcome… to the family?"

Shadow stared down at the grass, not speaking.

Finally, Silver spoke up.

"You are an orphan, are you not, Shadow?"

It was barely a whisper, but it was audible. "… Yes."

"Oh, shadow…" Amelia felt very sorry for the young ebony hedgehog.

"Do not pity me," he said without emotion.

"I'm not, Shadow!" Amelia exclaimed, "But why didn't you say any thing? You've got nowhere to go, have you? So stay with us! You can stay as long as you want to, and… maybe we could be friends?"

"You'd… do that for me?" Shadow said, astonished.

Amelia nodded, "Would you… like to?"

Shadow remained speechless for a few more moments, before a smile broke upon his face. Not strange, mocking smiles Amelia usually received from other children her age, but a genuine one of joy.

"Absolutely."

"Yay! I'm so happy!" Amelia exclaimed, giving Shadow a hug. Shadow flinched for a moment, as if unused to such behavior, then returned the embrace.

"So… am I."

* * *

**Okay, so here's the thing...**

**In chapter 5 there's a sword duel between Sonic and Amelia, but I can't decide who should win. That's where you come in! i'm making a poll for this and I need all you people to vote! k, got it? Let's do it!  
**


	4. He couldn't be much cockier than this

This has anti sonic material

This is in Mobius' past

There are chaos emeralds

* * *

**All right you guys I'm back!**

**I just gotta say, all you guys are awesome! Thank you to all my reviewers, I just loved all the positivity you gave from your comments! They were so supportive and kept me going! I love you guys!**

**Anyway, I know you've been waiting patiently for this, so here it is!**

**Enjoy! ^^**

* * *

A few years have passed. It's now Amelia's 14th birthday. The entire kingdom was invited to celebrate at the castles courtyard. Amelia walked around the courtyard greeting everyone, followed by Shadow, of course. She and Shadow had become very good friends by this time, while Sonic had just gotten worse and worse.

Amelia was now resting at the head of the courtyard, sitting in a handmade armchair created specifically for this occasion. Just then, Amelia's friend Cream, the florist's daughter, came running up to Amelia. Both Shadow and Amelia smiled, for they were both fond of this young girl.

"Hello, Cream!" said Amelia, "How are you?"

"Miss Amelia!" Cream exclaimed, "You need to leave, now!"

"Why?"

"It's sir Sonic! He will cause you many problems, for he-"

"Am I interrupting something?

Everyone groaned, they knew who that voice belonged to- Sonic.

"Hey, I need the princess for a minute," he said.

"I'm sorry, I can't now, Sonic-" Amelia started.

"Let me rephrase this…" said Sonic, "you're coming with me now."

He grabbed Amelia's wrist and began pulling her through the crowd.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Amelia protested.

"Hey, I'm coming as well, it's my job!" said Shadow, as he started to come after them, but was held back by Knuckles, Sonic's fist man,

"Oh, no. This one's all Sonic's." said Knuckles.

"No, princess!" Shadow shouted.

"Shadow, help!" Amelia cried out, before she was pulled out of sight.

Amelia's mother had noticed something was amiss and came over to shadow.

"What is going on over here?" she demanded.

"I can't get to the princess!" said Shadow, "Knuckles won't let me!"

"Knuckles! What's the meaning of this?" Florina said, looking cross.

"Well, sonic wanted to be with Amelia-" Knuckles started.

"That gives him no right to stop Shadow from doing his job!" Florina said hotly, "Now which way did they go?"

Shadow pointed, and Florina nodded.

"He's taking her to the fountain. Come, Shadow,"

**-AT THE FOUNTAIN-**

Sonic was pulling Amelia up the fountain stairs, closer to the water.

"Wh-why are we here?" Amelia stuttered in fright.

"We're going to give all these nice people a show," Sonic replied.

"What do you mean?" Amelia asked. Then she saw Sonic was getting closer and closer to her. She was more frightened than ever.

"Sonic, stop, I don't like this."

"Relax, it'll only be a second."

More and more heads turned, until nearly everyone was watching them.

"Sonic, please…"

"Shh…" he placed a finger on her mouth, then kissed her full on the lips. Her eyes opened wide, and she quickly pushed away. The entire kingdom burst into applause and cheer.

"What was that?" Amelia exclaimed.

Sonic just grinned like an idiot, "That was the introduction to my fifteen minutes of fame. Well, see ya!" and off he went like a shot to greet his fans, leaving Amelia standing there in disbelief.

"I can't believe he just did that." she suddenly lost her footing and fell into the fountain. She felt like crying. He didn't care about anyone but himself.

"That jerk…" she said between gritted teeth.

"Princess!" she found herself being helped up by Shadow. "Are you alright?"

"Yes Shadow, I'm fine," she lied, "I think I'll go in my bedroom for the rest of my birthday to rest."

"Alright," said Shadow, "let's go."

**-Later that night-**

Amelia Stared out the window, crying. She felt so depressed. She could feel frustration creeping up inside of her.

_No!_ She protested_ I must not let this take control of me again! I… should go outside! Yes, that's it, I'll go to the rooftop garden!_

Amelia left her room and started toward the staircase, but she heard some shouting coming from one of the old libraries. As Amelia got closer, she could make out the words more clearly.

"What the hell are you here for, Sonic?" that was Shadow.

"I could ask you the same, pal."

Amelia knew that voice immediately- Sonic. Amelia hid against the wall outside the door, so she wouldn't be seen.

"I live here, you bastard!" said Shadow. "What's your excuse?"

"I wanted to apologize to the princess. Is that a problem?" said Sonic.

"The hell it isn't!" said Amelia, who had finally stepped through the door.

"A-Amelia!" Sonic stuttered, "I can explain!"

"Like hell you can!" Amelia said, and her eyes glowed red. A pink sword appeared in her and out of thin air.

"I suggest you get out of here _now,_ Sonic," Shadow advised. Amelia slashed at Sonic's side with a cry of rage, but missed.

"What is this?" Sonic said breathlessly, avoiding Amelia's strikes.

"Well, if you must know, this is what happens when she gets extremely angry or stressed," Shadow replied, smirking.

"What! Why didn't somebody tell me about this before?"

"Not even the Queen knows. I'm the only one."

Sonic raised an eyebrow, "Hmm, I guess you've had a run-in with this before, eh Shadow?"

Shadow sweat dropped.

"You could say that…"

Amelia nearly cutting off Sonic's nose cut off their conversation.

"Well, that's just great! Help me get rid of her!" Sonic begged.

Shadow smirked, "Knight, you got yourself into this, you get yourself out."

"Gee thanks."

Suddenly, Sonic saw Amelia coming at him in the corner of his eye. Before he could react, he felt an excruciating pain in his right ear.

"Aargh!" he shouted in pain, falling to the floor. When he stood up again, he looked into a full-length mirror across the room. His eyes went wide at what he saw.

"She- she cut off my ear!" he gasped.

"I warned you-" Shadow began to lecture.

"Shut up, Shadow! Looks like I'll have to fight fire with fire!" Sonic was determined. "Amelia! I challenge you to a duel!"

Amelia stopped the swipe she was about to make at his legs. A look of interest came over her face. "A duel?" she repeated, keeping her sword held high.

Sonic nodded, "If you win, I'll stay away from you and never come near you again. But if I win…"

"If you win?" Amelia repeated.

"You will marry me in two months! So… do we duel or not?" Sonic held out his hand. Amelia hesitated a few moments, then took it. "We duel."

"Now that all that's settled" said Shadow, "I know the perfect place- the rooftop flat."

He took out the aqua blue chaos emerald and said the two words we all know so well:

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

And they were all gone.

* * *

**Sorry it took so long, I don't get a lot of time on the computer =(**

**Anyways, it's super long...**

**Alright, get exited, the next chapter officially declares the winner! I must tell you all: voting for Sonic to win makes for an awesome touchy-feely scene with Shadow and Amelia. Voting for Amelia has a bad scene come into play (and by bad I mean life threatening for EVERYBODY).**

**Just saying, think through you choices carefully. It's your last chance before the poll closes! =)**

**Happy voting!**

**Oh I almost forgot, I will be unable to update during summer break. Sorry!**


	5. The outcome of a duel

**Sorry to keep you all waiting so long. New school year, new schedule, it's crazy. And so much HW! Anyway, I actually nearly gave up on this whole thing, cuz I have such a busy schedule now like you wouldn't BELIEVE. Fortunately for all of you, my friend got my an awesome Sonic poster for my B-day, which made me so happy, because it was my 1st Sonic poster ever. That poster gave me the empowerment that I HAD to finish this. So here you go, while I've got a chance. **

**And beware, there is a shocking twist...**

* * *

Both Sonic and Amelia breathed heavily. Sonic had fought hard wit his sword Excalibur, but he could hardly touch Amelia, while he had scars and wounds in multiple places.

_There's no way I can win this now!_ He thought,_ Unless… no, that's too risky. But if it works, Amelia would be defeated, and she'd have to marry me. I'll try it!_

"Excalibur! Summon all your power!" he called out. He could feel power collecting into his sword. When the power reached full mass, he called out, "Flash and burn!"

A large cloud of lightning and fire shot out of Excalibur, straight for Amelia. Sonic felt nearly all of his strength ebbing away. This was it… the end of the battle. He watched as Amelia turned to face the electric fire that came ever closer.

Amelia smirked and jumped out of the way. The momentum that had been moving the cloud sent it twelve feet away before it began coming back. Amelia raised her sword high in the air.

"Icy storm!" she chanted.

A blur of cold ice, water, and air counter attacked the lightning fire, cooling it down continuously until it had become no more than a spark. Amelia pinched the spark between her fingers, finishing it off. Then she turned to Sonic, who had collapsed from exhaustion. She pointed her sword at him to get his attention. He looked up at her with weary eyes.

"You lose," she said bluntly. Sonic hung his head, admitting defeat. "Get out, Sonic. Don't you dare ever show your face to me again, do you hear me!"

Sonic nodded, "Amelia?"

"What?"

"Could you escort me out?" he asked plainly.

"Why should I do that?"

"Just… as a last request?"

"Granted," Amelia sighed coolly, her eyes returning to their natural hue of jade at last, "Coming, Shadow?

"As always," Shadow smirked.

Amelia and Shadow led Sonic to a corridor where the castle's entrance lay waiting.

"Goodbye, princess," said Sonic quietly.

"Goodbye, Sonic," Amelia said stiffly, "I wish you much luck in the future"

"Same here."

Suddenly, quick footsteps were heard.

"Did you hear that, Shadow?" said Sonic.

Shadow nodded, "Be on your alert tonight. We're not alone."

Amelia saw a cloaked figure walking up to Shadow from behind. "Shadow, move!" she shouted, but the figure had hit him with his fist. Shadow flew into the wall, then fell to the floor, in great pain.

"Shadow!" Amelia called.

"I… can't move," he groaned, "princess, look out!"

Amelia saw that the figure had grabbed a sword off a wall and was running at her, full tilt, sword aimed at her torso. She braced herself for the impact. Sonic saw Amelia's predicament and his eyes widened. "No!" he screamed. He ran intensely fast and jumped in front of Amelia, taking the blow for her.

"Amelia," he said feebly, "I just wanted… to say… sorry." He coughed up blood for a few seconds, then stiffened and fell limp.

The figure dropped the sword and began to walk towards Amelia, when there were sounds of footsteps and the light of a lantern coming their way. In the dim light, Amelia saw the color of the hunter's eyes- gold.

"Amelia, Amelia!" She knew those voices. Queen Florina. King Fletcher. Silver. They all stopped to gasp, seeing the cloaked figure and the scene before them. The figure backed away, startled, then ran away.

"Amelia, who was that?" said Fletcher.

"I d-don't know, father." Amelia said, her voice shaking, "He h-hurt Shadow, and he tr-tried to kill m-me, but S-Sonic s-saved me. He t-took the blow."

She pointed to Sonic, which received another round of gasps. Fletcher's face paled, while Florina looked just about ready to faint. Silver's eyes widened. "I'll go tell A-Aleena," he gasped, then left.

* * *

**Well, there you have it. I'll bet you never expected that.**

…

…

**I dunno what else to say here. Anyway, comment, I guess...**

**See you next time... LLR, OUT!**


	6. Grief & more sorrow

**Hey, I'm back! Sorry it took so long, guys. I would've had it up sooner, but Writer's Block finally got its sneaky little hands on me**** :P**

**...curses.**

**Oh well. It was gonna happen sooner or later.**

**Anyway, I finally got this finished and I'm gonna get this up while I can**

**Here it is! **

* * *

Two weeks. Two weeks of mourning. Two weeks of Sonic's funeral (my guess of how long medieval Mobius funerals were). Amelia couldn't help feeling a bit guilty about his death, and in shock as well. He gave his life for her. If he hadn't been there, he would still be alive. He could've chosen just to let that guy kill her, but he didn't. He saved her.

Amelia shook her head, "I'm so confused. He's always been such a jerk, why would he...do that?"

At the burial, Amelia watched as Sonic's coffin was lowered into the ground. She got so overwhelmed, thinking, _He's dead...and it's my entire fault._

A single, silent tear fell down her face.

-LATER THAT DAY-

Amelia was walking up one of the castle towers with Shadow, to visit her parents.

"Amelia, what's wrong?" asked Shadow, "You've got that troubled look on your face again."

"I can't get anything past you, can I?" Amelia sighed.

"Is it Sonic?"

Amelia nodded in a daze, "How did you know?"

"Just a guess. Now what's the problem?"

"He...saved my life. Why would he do that? And when he apologized, was that even genuine?"

"Well, I'll admit," Shadow continued, "although he is a bit of an airhead, his heart is in the right place."

"I suppose..." said Amelia," but he's always had that arrogant _attitude_-"

"Airhead, remember?"

Amelia smirked, "I'll keep that in mind..."

Suddenly, there were screams coming from her mother's room.

"Shadow, I think something's wrong!" Amelia said anxiously, "We have to find my parents!"

"No, you don't," said a daunting voice, "I've finally found you again, princess."

Amelia turned around quickly. Out of the shadows once again came the cloaked figure.

"You!" Shadow and Amelia exclaimed.

"Yes, me," said the figure, "who else is it, Shakespeare? Now, come here!"

"Princess we need to run!" said Shadow. He grabbed Amelia's hand and started to run with her through the halls, their pursuer not far behind them. They could hear the screams growing louder and louder.

"Shadow!" Amelia gasped, "Those screams, they-they're my parents! Something is not right! Something terrible is happening!"

"I know!" Shadow replied, "But there's no way we can find them right now! Not like this!" he implied the person behind them. Amelia looked behind them, and was terrified to discover the cloaked figure was no more than a few inches behind them. Suddenly he lunged forward and grabbed Amelia by the legs, pulling her out of Shadow's hold.

"Shadow, help!" Amelia cried out.

Shadow growled. He ran behind the figure and kicked him in the back. He yelled in pain and released Amelia. Shadow ran over to her and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I think so," Amelia replied.

"Alright, hold on," said Shadow, picking her up bridal style. He ran to the queen's room where the screaming had come from, and set her down. Amelia thanked him and thrust the door open. There was blood spattered all over the floor, walls, and furniture. Pale, lifeless bodies lay scattered everywhere-bodies in cloaks.

"THERE ARE MORE?" Shadow and Amelia thought in unision.

"Mother! Father!" Amelia called anxiously, "Where are you? Are you alright?"

"Amelia...?" a voice half whispered, "Is that you?"

"Father?"

The forest-green of the king's head popped out from behind the large bed. He smiled in relief when he saw the two of them and motioned them over. Amelia cried for joy and hugged him tightly.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" she said, "I thought that something terrible-wait...where's mother?"

King Fletcher looked upon her with sad eyes. "Amelia, I'm so sorry...she was killed in battle against these interlopers."

Amelia gasped in shock, and Shadow's eyes widened slightly in disbelief. Amelia's eyes stung with tears, but she blinked them away. She refused to cry in front of anyone, even if it came to the worst. She didn't want to show that she was weak. Instead she said, "Well, she always did believe that heaven was watching her with peace and joy...now she can have peace and joy all the time."

"I suppose that is a good way to put it," said Fletcher, managing a small smile, "but listen. If those are only the ones that came in here, there will be more. We don't have a lot of time. Take these." he gave Amelia and Shadow two finely crafted brass keys.

"What are these for?" asked Shadow.

"For these," Fletcher handed them each a small velvet box, "Florina wanted you to have these. She thought you'd appreciate them. But don't open them now...it's not the time."

Then suddenly...

"Boo," a voice whispered from the hall, "ready or not, here I come..."

"Go! Hide, children!"

"But father, what about you?" Amelia said sadly.

"I'll be fine," said her father, "now, go!"

"I love you..." said Amelia, her eyes watering.

"Come on," said Shadow. He took her to a broom closet in the bedroom and shut the door. Her father shoved various heavy objects in front of the door, so nobody could get at them.

"Peekaboo, I found you..." the figure had come at last, "where are the children?"

"They're elsewhere," said Fletcher, "now get away"

"No, I don't think I will..."

The figure let out a battle cry, and the clashing of swords followed. Fletcher yelled in rage and tried to swing at the figure but missed, demolishing many highlights of the room.

"I will not let you harm my family!" Fletcher cried.

"To the end, then!"

From inside the small closet, Amelia and Shadow could hear the duel progress. They couldn't see anything, but they heard the many yells, screams, and thuds outside, which didn't leave much to the imagination. Amelia wanted to cry, but she knew that would reveal her and Shadow. Still, the sadness was eventually too much to take, and a few silent tears escaped. _'Father, please, __**please,**__ be alright...' _she thought to herself. She soon fell asleep, warm tears continuing to stain her cheeks.

When she woke up again, there was silence. Complete and utter silence. Darker too, meaning it'd been some time.

"Sh-Shadow? Are you awake?" Amelia asked quietly.

"Yes. Do you think it's safe?" he replied uncertainly, which surprised Amelia.

"I hope so," said Amelia, "should we check?""

"Alright," she felt his hand grasp hers, "chaos control."

In another moment, they appeared outside the closet. It was evening, and the first thing they noticed was blood pooled in the floor. Immediately, Amelia felt a sense of dread come over her.

"Father! Father! Are you all right? Please answer me!" she called.

"Amelia..." said Shadow, voice faltering.

"Yes?" she answered, fearing the worst.

Shadow pointed at a wall. Amelia looked close, and gasped.

"_**No!"**_

At the foot of the wall, was her father, dead. Right over him, written with his blood, was this message,

_**YOU'RE NEXT, PRINCESS.**_

* * *

**There you have it.**

**I'll have the next one up as fast as possible, I promise.**

**Until next time...Sayonara...**

**LLR OUT!**


	7. Keys & keepsakes

The princess could not be consoled. She tried her best not to show her sadness, but everyone saw right through it. She was depressed and upset about the whole mess, and it was beginning to take its toll. During the day, Amelia forced a smile upon herself, but at night, Shadow could hear faint crying from his room, which was right next to hers. Her eyes were heavy and red every morning from crying so much during the night. Bags began to form under her eyes from all the sleepless nights she was having. But every time Shadow checked on her, she said she was fine. Shadow didn't know what to do, so he decided to ask Silver.

Silver was in the library as usual, reading a book about mythical creatures. Shadow approached him quietly.

"Silver?" he said slowly.

Silver looked up. When he saw whom it was, his face spread into a broad grin.

"Ah, Shadow, my good fellow!" he exclaimed. "Come sit! You want to talk about something? Unicorns? Mermaids? Ogres?"

Shadow sweat dropped. He'd forgotten that Silver was obsessed with these things.

"Um, well, yes and no." said Shadow, sliding into the chair beside him.

"Yes and no?"

"Well yes, I do want to talk, but not about those things."

Silver snapped his book shut, "What about then?"

"Amelia."

"Amelia?"

Shadow nodded, "I'm feeling a little worried about her. She's getting more and more depressed by the day, and all I do is stand by and watch. But I want to help her. I don't like seeing her so sad all the time. What can I do, Silver?"

"You should talk to her," said Silver.

"I should?"

"Yes," Silver continued, "she listens to you. You're like a brother to her. And remember, the last of her family is gone. Right now, you're the only one she's got. She needs you, Shadow."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

Shadow stood up, "Well then, I guess I'll go right now. Thank you, Silver. I appreciate this."

"Anytime, Shadow, anytime!" You'd better hurry, the sun has already begun to sink."

Shadow nodded, "Have a good evening, Silver." Then he left.

Shadow walked along the passages to Amelia's room, certain of what he would say to brighten Amelia's mood. By the time he got there, the stars and the moon had already begun to rise. He knocked on the door.

"Nobody's here!"

Shadow frowned, "Princess, I'd like to talk to you."

"Go away!"

That didn't sound right. Something was wrong.

"Come on, it's me, Shadow."

"Leave me alone!"

She didn't sound like herself at all.

"Princess, if you don't let me in, I'm coming in myself!"

"No!"

Shadow prepared himself for the worst as he turned the handle and walked in. He saw Amelia get onto the balcony ledge, about to jump. He was not ready for this.

"Amelia!" he gasped.

Amelia leaned back, losing her footing.

"No!" He ran to the balcony just as she began to fall, catching her by the hand.

"Please, Shadow!" she cried, "Let me go, I can't take it anymore!"

"I'll never let you go! I can't lose you, too," Shadow replied wholeheartedly, pulling her back into the room. Amelia slowly walked and sat on her bed, with the saddest expression you can _imagine_ on her face. Shadow wasn't sure how to respond to this, but he had to do something. He sat on the bed beside her.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked.

Amelia nodded meekly, not looking at anything, really.

"I...I was shocked, after my parents died. It was so hard to accept. It still is. Plus on top of that, Sonic was murdered. _Killed_ so he could save me. He didn't deserve that. Nobody did! If I hadn't made that deal, he might still be alive. _EVERYBODY _might still be alive! I was so _stupid _to make that deal! It just wasn't worth it! I couldn't take it anymore, Shadow. That's when I was done...I decided...to end it all."

Shadow was shocked.

"I just felt...so alone."

"Amelia, no."

"Like nobody was there for me."

"Amelia!"

Amelia flinched for a moment, then turned to face him with tear-filled eyes. "Yes?" her voice was broken.

"Amelia, stop talking like that right now." Shadow took her by the shoulders, "You're not stupid. You're impossibly smart and beautiful. Not to mention kind." he gave her a smile, "And you're never alone. You've got Silver, Cream, and..Even Sonic was there for you when you needed him. We're here for you. Always."

"A-always?"

"Always, Amelia."

Amelia's lip quivered. She leaned on Shadow, sobbing into his chest fur. "I'm sorry, Shadow! I'm so, so, sorry!" she cried.

"It's alright, let it out," said Shadow, running his fingers through her hair.

Eventually, Amelia calmed down. The two of them sat in silence, staring at the star-lit sky. It was a beautiful, humbling sight.

"Shadow..." said Amelia.

"Yes?"

"Thank you...for always being there. I could not have asked for a better guardian...or a friend." Amelia said, smiling brightly.

Shadow was touched. "Thank you, Amelia." he said softly.

Amelia nodded, "Hey, Shadow?"

"Yes, Amelia?"

"Did you open your box yet?"

This seemed to take Shadow by surprise a little. "No. Why do you ask?"

"Well," Amelia fidgeted a little, "I haven't either, so I was wondering...could we, maybe open them together?"

Shadow smiled, "Why of course, my rose."

Amelia blushed and giggled a little. "Shadow, why do you call me that?"

"You're sweet and gentle like a rose. It suits you."

Amelia gave him a hug, "Well you're sweet, too."

It was Shadow's turn to blush now, "Um...th-thanks..."

"Is something wrong?"

"N-no! Everything's fine! Let me go get my box, okay?"

"Okay."

Shadow ran out and came back a few minutes later. "Sorry I took so long," Shadow apologized, "I couldn't remember where I'd put it."

"Oh, that's alright!" Amelia said excitedly, "Let's open them already! Do you have your key?"

"Yes." Shadow took his out of his head quills.

"Okay, on the count of three."

"One..."

"Two..."

"_Three!"_

They opened them. Inside each were two small portraits and a note. Amelia's also included an oval-shaped locket. Amelia picked up the first portrait and smiled, "Look Shadow! It's us with my mother and father!"

Shadow looked, and there was indeed a painting of them together.

Amelia, her pink hair windswept, she appeared to be laughing. The ebony hedgehog had a slight smirk on his face. The albino queen looked beautiful in a sky blue dress. The forest green colored king looked slightly bemused and full of life.

"Wow." was all Shadow said.

"You've got the same one, Shadow," Amelia pointed out. Shadow nodded quietly, but he didn't pay much more attention. The other portrait had caught his attention, and he seemed to be in some sort of shocked daze. He held it up slowly, "How..."

"Shadow, what is it?"

Shadow didn't respond, he just continued to stare at the portrait, lost in another world it seemed. Amelia looked at the portrait in curiosity. In the painting there were two hedgehogs. One of them was a black hedgehog with red rims around her blue eyes. The other one was a red hedgehog with green eyes.

"Shadow, who are those hedgehogs?" Amelia asked.

"They...are my...mother and father..." he replied quietly, almost in a whisper.

"Oh..."

Amelia thought they looked like perfectly good-natured, kind people.

"They...they look lovely together, Shadow."

"Thank you."

Amelia picked up the 2nd portrait in her box. There were two hedgehogs in this one as well. An orange hedgehog in a green dress, and a purple hedgehog wearing spectacles.

"Who are they?" asked Shadow.

"I don't know..." said Amelia.

"Look, there's a note in your box," said Shadow.

Amelia picked it up and cleared her throat.

"Dear Amelia," she read, "you think of us as mother and father. Well, to tell the truth, we are family, but not your parents. This does not mean you are not royalty-you are still in the royal bloodline. I suppose I shall have to get straight to the point. The painting you likely do not recognize is a painting of your true parents: my brother Philippe, and his wife Maria. They were killed two weeks after your third birthday. I'm so sorry I've kept this truth from you all these years-I should've told you long ago. I hope you can forgive me.

"With love, Florina."

Another silence filled the room, as Amelia realized the truth. She had no parents. She was an orphan.

"Of course I forgive you..." she whispered. She put the note back in the box.

"Hey, Shadow?"

"Yes?"

"What happened to your parents?"

He turned his head away, staring at the inside of his box, "They were killed as well."

"Oh..."

"We should get some sleep," said Shadow, standing up. He closed the box and hid it away.

"Yes, you're right," Amelia yawned.

"Good night, Amelia," said Shadow.

"Good night, Shadow."

"Oh, and Amelia?"

"Yes?"

"Meet me in the library down the hall tomorrow. I want to show you something. Can I count on you?"

"Absolutely! I'll see you there!"

Shadow nodded, "I'll be waiting."

Then he left, closing the door behind him.

* * *

**That's all for now. My next updates might take time, but hang in there! They're going to be absolutely _CRUCIAL _to the plotline.**

**LLR OUT!**


	8. Waterfall and Shadow's secret

First thing after breakfast, Amelia went to the library. There stood Shadow, as promised. He was looking at his box again, in deep thought it seemed.

"You're here," he said without looking up.

"Yes," Amelia replied, unsurprised. She was used to Shadow's mysterious behavior by this time.

Shadow shut the box. "Are you ready?" he said, looking up at last. Amelia nodded.

"I want to show you a very special place," said Shadow, "Do you trust me?"

"Yes," Amelia replied, smiling.

"Good." said Shadow. He picked her up bridal style.

"Close your eyes," he whispered in her ear.

"Okay." she shut her eyes, and Shadow began to run. She felt the soft rush of wind pass by her, but the run was not uncomfortable and bumpy. Rather, it was like Shadow was gliding. Shadow was indeed _swift as the wind. 'His name suits him perfectly,' _Amelia thought to herself. She was exhilarated as the early summer wind raced by. She felt free. She gave a shout of laughter, embracing the feeling.

...All too soon it was over.

"Open."

Amelia opened her eyes and gasped. Before her was a beautiful waterfall, which fell into a pure, sparkling lake. This was in a large clearing, surrounded by miles of forest

"My secret place," said Shadow, "thought you might like to see it."

"Oh Shadow, it's beautiful..." Amelia exclaimed breathlessly, "However did you find this?"

"I actually discovered this on the day I came to the kingdom."

Amelia remembered, "You mean...I, you-the garden?"

"Yes," Shadow nodded, "It was spring, I remember. Everything looked exactly the same, except the whole place was covered with wildflowers of all sorts. I also remember Cream coming up from behind and pulling on my quills."

Amelia laughed. "Cream? What was she doing here?"

"Picking flowers. She was only five, then." Shadow smirked.

"Were you mad at her? For pulling on your quills?"

"A little, at first. But when I turned around to face her, she put a flower crown on my head."

Amelia laughed even harder, "That definitely sounds like her!"

"Well, what a coincidence..." Shadow pointed skyward, as a shadow passed over them. Amelia looked up to see Cream gliding toward the area, using her ears, landing gracefully on the earth a short distance away.

"Wow, that was amazing! I didn't know you could do that, Cream!" said Amelia. Cream's head snapped upward in shock and surprise, and her face grew red. "Y-your highness! How did you get here?"

"I wanted to show her this place," said Shadow.

Cream got over her shock pretty quickly, and her face lit up. "Oh, that's great! We can show her all of the wonderful things around here!"

"Lead the way, Cream," said Shadow.

"Okay! Come this way, Amelia!" Cream said, pulling Amelia by the hand.

"Where are we going, Cream?" Amelia wondered aloud.

"You'll see!" Cream said, giggling.

They came to a curtain of vines. Shadow pulled them aside and said, "Welcome to the grand garden."

Amelia gasped. There were flowers. Huge flowers, everywhere. Roses, daisies, snapdragons, wildflowers, you name it and it would be there. The stems entangled each other gracefully, the flower petals bowed toward the ground. Many of these flowers were 20 times larger than normal flowers, some larger than that, and many more sizes in between. A single path led through the entire place. At the end of the path was a small pond, which reflected the daylight sun, making it seem as if everything was glowing. It truly was a grand garden.

"Cream, this is amazing!" Amelia exclaimed, astounded.

"So you like it?" said Cream hopefully.

"I love it, Cream!"

"I grew everything here!"

"Really?"

Cream nodded, "With a little help, of course."

"Help?"

"Yep. Come out, all of you!"

Out from behind the stems of the flowers, small chao flew out to greet them. They all chirped _hello _in their little cheerful voices and waved at the three of them.

"Hello again," said Shadow, smiling and waving back at them.

Amelia had never seen this type of creature before. "What are they?" she asked quizzically. Cream and Shadow stared at her like she had seventeen heads.

"What?" said Amelia, starting to feel uncomfortable.

"You really don't know?" said Shadow. Amelia nodded in reply, "I've never seen anything like them."

"These are chao," said Cream, "They're really cute, nice creatures. There's Rosie, Flence, and...oh! There's my friend Charles! Hi, Charles!"

A baby chao in a white hat flew towards them, but he was just learning to fly, and fell on top of Amelia's head.

"Well, hello to you too!" Amelia giggled.

"Chao, chao!" Charles said apologetically.

"So Cream," Amelia said, turning to face Cream, "Is this where you get all the flowers for your mother's flower shop? They're beautiful!"

"Yes Amelia, and thank you so much! I'm so glad you think so!" said Cream, beaming.

"Amelia?" Shadow asked.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering about something."

"All right...go ahead," said Amelia.

"I was rather curious...if you must be married by the time you are seventeen, shouldn't you be looking for someone to marry?"

"Chao?" said Charles.

"Oh Charles, I think we should leave them alone so they can talk," said Cream, "come, Charles!"

"Chao."

And so they left.

"Where were we?" said Shadow.

"You were asking me about why I'm not looking for another potential husband."

"Yes, that's right," said Shadow, waiting for an answer.

"Well, it's not that simple." Amelia continued, "You see, when the king and queen said I would marry Sonic, they signed a contract with his parents, saying that I _must _marry him. It couldn't be broken, because it was sealed with the king's ring. The only way I wouldn't have to marry him was if I married one of his cousins instead. I asked the queen if Sonic had any cousins, and she said there was one, but he'd gone missing for over a year. Besides, nobody remembered what he looked like or knew if he was even alive. I was disappointed to hear that.

"I am still held by that contract. Their circumstances are still the same, but only now I cannot marry at all unless I find Sonic's cousin. So you see, it's challenging."

"I see," said Shadow, "quite challenging."

"Yes," Amelia nodded.

"So, Amelia..."

"Yes?"

"If you met said cousin, you could marry him, am I correct?"

"That's right."

"Well, what if I told you that his cousin is still alive?" Shadow asked.

Amelia's heart skipped a beat, "He is?"

Shadow nodded, "And what if I knew where he is now?"

"Where, Shadow? Please tell me!" Amelia was unprepared for the next thing Shadow said.

"You're looking at him."

* * *

**DIDN'T SEE THAT COMIN, DIDJA?**


	9. last days of calm

Amelia could not believe her ears.

"Shadow, are you really..." she said in a shaky whisper.

Shadow nodded silently.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Amelia asked.

"I suppose it was nerves," said Shadow, "but that's beside the point. Amelia, I...I..."

"You what?"

"I...love you," said Shadow. A slight blush appeared on his face.

"Oh," Amelia's face flushed red.

"Of course, if you don't feel the same way..." Shadow began to turn away.

"No, Shadow! Wait!"

Shadow stopped, "Yes, princess?"

"I-I love you too!" Amelia exclaimed, "Please, don't leave me!"

Shadow stepped back toward Amelia, so that there was only a foot between them, "Now who said I was leaving? I'll always be there for you, and that's not going to change, no matter what."

With that, he leaned forward and kissed Amelia. When they parted, Shadow saw tears running down Amelia's face.

"Why are you crying?" Shadow asked in concern, "Is there something wrong?"

"No, not at all..." Amelia said with a smile, "I'm just so happy, is all!"

Shadow wiped her tears away, "Well that's great to hear. It's good to see you smile."

Amelia smiled even brighter in response. "That's really sweet, Shadow."

"And completely true," said Shadow.

"I suppose we ought to go back to the castle and tell everyone the news, right Shadow?"

"Yes," Shadow smiled.

"Alright, then. Cream!"

"Yes" came the rabbit's reply.

"We're going back to the castle! Want to come?" said Amelia.

"Okay!" said Cream, "Can Charles come too?"

"Yes, it's perfectly fine."

"Yay! Come Charles!"

"Chao!"

"Alright," said Shadow, "let's go."

They decided to walk back since it was such a nice day out. They were about halfway back through the forest when they saw a certain two-tailed yellow fox.

"Miles!" said Cream, waving.

Miles turned his head and saw the three ("Chao!") -err- four of them.

"Hello!" he waved back, are you heading back to the castle?"

"Yes!" Cream replied.

"Don't! You can't!"

"Why not?" said Shadow.

"The kingdom's been taken over!"

"What? By whom?" Amelia said, alarmed.

"Strange masked figures," said Miles, "In cloaks."

Amelia's face paled, "Shadow, what will we do?"

"Don't worry," said Shadow, "whatever happens, we'll make it through this together. We're here for you. Always."

"Always?"

"Always, Amelia."

* * *

_~end of The Rose & the Shadow~_

_To be continued in the sequel:_

_The Rose & the Shadow: Until death do us part_


End file.
